Balkan Beauty Part II

A friend of mine who had done a trip through the Balkans before told me that Montenegro had been her favourite country to visit during the trip. So naturally, we had quite some expectations when we came there. We came from Dubrovnik during the afternoon/evening, so already the bus drive along the coastline while the sun was slowly setting was magical! 

The next day, we explored Kotor with our Couchsurfing Host who is working as a tour guide but since we already came during the low season, he had a lot of time to show us around which was, especially with his profound knowledge of the city, really great. The old town is very pretty and Kotor also has a castle up the mountain (castle of San Giovanni) which you have to pay entrance for during the day, but at night or early in the morning you don't have to pay. We went up the mountain the night we arrived (but not all the way up to the castle) which was already nice but our Host told us that it is really great to go there for sunrise. Because we were tired (and lazy, let's be honest), we didn't want to hike up the mountain early in the morning but in retrospect I really regret that we didn't do it (so learn from my mistake and definitely do it! ;)).

After Kotor, we went to our next Couchsurfing Host which was living on an abondoned island (I sadly don't remember the name anymore) close to Tivat, which is like a 15-minute Taxi ride from Kotor. He picked us up with his small motorboat at the port of Tivat and then we drove to the island, my friend and I both really excited to see what we would find there. The house was quite basic with no running water in the bathroom (only in the kitchen) and no light in some rooms but our host and his brother who was there most of the time were super nice and fun so we immediately felt welcome there. Our host showed us how he dives for seacucumbers which he uses as prey for fish (he mainly lived off the fish he sells) and I tried to help but didn't manage to catch one. At night, he took us out on the sea to show us how he places the nets to catch fish and for one dinner we got to enjoy some fish that he had caught that morning. It was such a magical experience and we were able to completely unwind during our time there.

To be honest, we mostly went to Tirana because it was on the way to our final destination Skopje. However, we really enjoyed our time there. After mostly spending our time with our Couchsurfing Hosts or alone on the island, it was nice to meet some other travellers again. We explored the city together, went to the Communist Museum and rented some bikes to cycle in the Grand Park.

Skopje is the capital of North Mazedonia and the biggest city in the country. Until 2019 (so also during our visit in 2018), the country was called Mazedonia but there had been a dispute about that name for many years between Greece and North Macedonia because Greece also has a region called Macedonia so to avoid confusion, they wanted the country to have a regional specifier in its name. The UN set up a mediation process and eventually in 2019, it was settled that the country would be called "North Macedonia". 

We really enjoyed walking around the city center and checking out the nice architecture. Some people call the city "kitschy" or "funky" but we really enjoyed the unique vibe of the city. There are many statues but the most important one is the statue of Alexander the Great on the main square (it's officially called "Man on the Horse" but everyone knows that it is supposed to be Alexander the Great...). At night, there are sometimes water-shows at the fountain around the statue, make sure not to miss it!

Another thing we would really recommend is visiting the Memorial House of Mother Teresa. We learned a lot about the famous figure and also, the house is simply really nice to look at. 

We also loved the old bazaar, definitely come here with a little bit of an appetite and try out some of the different foods!

After spending a few hours exploring the city center, we really enjoyed relaxing a bit in the City Park (sitting in the shade and eating ice-cream was just the best as it was quite hot).

In the evening, it is really nice to eat in a restaurant along the river. It is a bit more expensive there but I would say it's really worth the view and atmosphere.